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Not giving up yet Catchings says she'll try to be back for NCAA play
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee expects to play for the national championship and Tamika Catchings of Duncanville, Texas, plans on being on the court for the Vols. Tennessee has to recover from the loss of Catchings, its leading scorer and rebounder, to make the title game and Catchings will need a miraculous recovery from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, suffered in Monday's win over Mississippi State. "I wouldn't put anything past this kid," Tennessee team doctor Jenny Moshak said. Catchings expects to recover in two months. The usual rehabilitation period is several months. "I just remember my knee just hurt when I fell down," Catchings said. "I just started thinking about the championship game and wanting to play. "One of my original goals coming in was to have two national championships before I left. I have one. I don't have the other." A healthy Catchings or not, Tennessee isn't throwing in the towel. "We still intend to be in St. Louis," coach Pat Summitt said. "A lot of people look at us now as less of a threat nationally. It's important how we handle this." To recover in time for the Final Four would be monumental -- but not impossible. Other Lady Vols have battled back from severe injuries. Point guard Kellie Jolly recovered from a torn ACL in 1997 in three months and two weeks. Moshak couldn't compare Jolly's and Catchings' injuries. Surgery will show how much damage Catchings suffered. But Catchings shook her head to indicate she could beat that. "I'm going to try it," she said. Catchings is only the second Lady Vol -- after Chamique Holdsclaw -- to reach 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. After Monday's game, Catchings had 2,113 points and 1,004 rebounds. Summitt said she was sad and depressed Monday night. "I had a hard time dealing with it quite honestly," she said. But she believes the Lady Vols can recover from the loss. "We don't replace it with another Tamika Catchings because we only have one. She's selfless, tenacity, high energy," Summitt said. "We're not asking one player to make that up. We're asking them to individually commit." Catchings, who has never sustained an injury worse than a sprained ankle and broken nose, started her comeback on Tuesday. While the other Lady Vols prepared for fourth-ranked Georgia, Catchings sat propped up on a courtside table, smiling and yelling out to her teammates as trainers and Moshak massaged her knee and kept it stimulated. She will have to undergo surgery before her recovery is complete. "I hate watching practice. I definitely would rather be out there," Catchings said. "But just watching them, they seemed so motivated and so ready to play. I like that." There were no tears, sluggish sprints or halfhearted shots at Tennessee's practice Tuesday. "We had a really good practice. We're going to be focused," senior guard Semeka Randall said. "This season is definitely dedicated to Tamika. She came out and worked her butt off for our team. This is going to be our pay back." As a result of the injury, Randall will play Catchings' forward position. Senior guard Kristen Clement, who has been a reserve most of the season, will start in Randall's place as the two guard.
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